Four troops shot dead in Khyber

PESHAWAR - The 18-member Jirga of Afridi tribesmen returned to Peshawar Tuesday from Tirah after holding successful talks with chief of Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) Mangal Bagh. Now it will brief Political Administration of Khyber Agency today (Wednesday) of its talks with Mangal Bagh and discuss other important issues pertaining to peace in Khyber Agency. The Jirga, led by Amal Gul, held decisive talks with Mangal Bagh at Tirah and came back to Peshawar to further debate over the conditions, put forward by both the government and Laskar-e-Islam to stop Khyber Agency Operation, source said. A source while talking to TheNation informed that Mangal Bagh had assured the jirga that they would remain completely peaceful and would not pose any threat to Peshawar in future as well. However, Mangal Bagh told the jirga that he wanted that all Lashkar-e-Islam activists, arrested during Bara operation by the government, should be released and all commercial centres, including Bara Bazaar, should be opened again, the source further added. The 18-member jirga would meet Political Agent of Khyber Agency today (Wednesday) at his office and brief him of the talks it held with Mangal Bagh. Meanwhile, NWFP Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain categorically denied that Bara operation was launched on the request of the ANP-PPP coalition government in the NWFP. Talking to media men here, he said that provincial government believed in talks and it was evident from Swat Peace Accord, which it made with local Taliban recently. Moreover, Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam (JUI-F) has announced to convene a 'Grand Jirga' on July 13 in Hangu to resolve the ongoing clashes between Lashkar-e-Islam and Ansarul Islam in Tirah area. Ex-MNA and JUI-F Provincial General Secretary Shujaul Mulk stated this while speaking here in a press conference. He said that the grand Jirga would take place with the consent of Lashkar-e-Islami chief Mangal Bagh and head of Ansarul Islam (AI) Maulana Mehboobul Haq. He said that both the rival sectarian groups have welcomed the initiative for reconciliation by the JUI-F and also assured of full cooperation in this regard. Tribal elders and Ulemas from the area would participate in the grand jirga. They hoped that it would be a milestone and resolve Khyber Agency crisis forever. Agencies add: A government official says unknown assailants fired on a vehicle carrying tribal police forces in Pakistan's northwest, killing four and wounding seven. The attack occurred in the Khyber tribal region, where the government recently launched a paramilitary offensive to clear out militants. It was not clear if the killings Tuesday were linked to the offensive, which has been halted amid peace talks. Mohammad Khan, a government official in Bara, a key focus of the offensive, says the gunmen ambushed the vehicle of the Frontier Constabulary unit, which was in the Akakhel area.